I went from a life of daily depression to the most in shape well balanced person I know in about a years time.

Pretty much a year ago I was in the worst shape of my life from a physical, financial, and mental standpoint. I remember being at a party on New Years and not even having a girl to kiss when the clock struck 12 AM. I guess, it's not such a big deal to some people but to me..at that time it was. It's not that I was totally incapable of getting women, it's just that due to my own depressive state I was pulling very subpar women.

I remember just leaving the club drunk as fuck..calling some close friends and family and telling them that 2010 was going be the best year ever. Shortly after that I launched into an ambitious plan to get everything back I had lost and then some. Here's what I did...step by step...

1. Took personal inventory on the financial crisis. See...I actually was doing really good before the recession...made some really dumb gambles and lost almost everything. I ended up just taking really basic steps like disputing credit discrepencies and pretty much eliminating any expenses that weren't bare essential. Basically, just stopped the bleeding. For me finances are super important. Money leads to having more freedom to do what I want (not work, travel) and also eliminates stress over bills and the pursuit of buying useless stuff.

2. Physically - This was the most dramatic and ambitious change I made. In a nutshell I lost over 30 pounds. Carved out an awesome physique. I did 2 workouts a day in a hot ass garage and overhauled my diet. I did P90X and a cardio program called Insanity. Basically, nothing took a back seat to my workouts. I would cancel almost any engagement or plan in order to do my workouts. I still do this. After I post this I'm about to blast on my biceps and shoulders. It never stops...but if there is one that that has drastically increased the quality of women I get - this would be the primary reason in my view.

3. Made smart business moves. Making money is easy. Really..it is. It just takes a mindset that most people lack. We are taught to be worker bees our whole lives. Work is ingrained into us. I gave the "system" a big fuck you and started importing stuff from overseas and selling it! That's pretty much it. Walmart model. Buy stuff in bulk...sell for a profit.

4. Stopped settling for subpar women. See, life is more about a mindset than it is anything else. If you set parameters for what you will/won't settle for you have a base line you can judge yourself against. If you don't set some basic guidelines on what you will and won't accept you are going to be floating around like a bubble with no direction. Really...I just stopped f'ing fat/ugly/broke/nasty chicks and would only get with girls that were attractive to me. When you start banging nasty chicks you lower your expectations.

5. Played by my own rules. Everyone has these guidelines on how things should work. Like, people look at me like an asshole when I work out at 3 in the morning. But it's all about "knowing thyself" and I know that is the peak hour for me sometimes. You have to be able to listen to your gut...generally your instincts are right. Stop listening to people unless they are considerably more successful than you.

6. Sold everything I don't need...This whole minimalism thing is played out. People want to live like monks and find out it's pretty boring and then go back and buy all their stuff back. I don't go that extreme. I still have cool stuff like flat screen TV's and XBox, Iphone...all that...but I generally use that stuff everyday and in moderation.

7. Travel. Went on 2 mini retirements to Thailand in 2010 and got another one set up fo February. It clears my head and opens up new doors to new thinking and ideas.

So that's pretty much it...I remade myself in a year...but the transformation can be done better and quicker.

Very very cool... this is what it's about. Feeling the "playing by your own rules" thing alot.

I just read a book called "The 80/20 Way" from the guy Tim Ferriss references, and it's very much along these lines. How most peoples deferred lifestyle is working hard at the bulk of BS that gets them only a fraction of their possible happiness... etc.

The deepest darkest times in my life (where suicide actually seemed like a viable option.. pun intended ;)) was when I wasn't putting my ALL into my strength training, approaching the hottest calibre of women & classy cool people, meditation [mind-training], working on my passions... literally DEVELOP THE SKILL of being passionate. It's sexy and makes life a whole hell of a lot more fun..

But yeah, that's it. I mean, when you're depressed your brain chemistry is severely fucked up and you're in a "there's no tomorrow" state of mind... but there is. There is ALWAYS hope, no matter what. Even if your hair is falling out others have grown it back... if you have cancer people have spontaneously healed... if you're a nerd with no social life and friends tons of guys started there and are now fucking italian supermodels and are some of the most respected men on the planet... there are NO LIMITS, except those you impose on yourself.

The deepest darkest times in my life (where suicide actually seemed like a viable option.. pun intended ;)) was when I wasn't putting my ALL into my strength training, approaching the hottest calibre of women & classy cool people, meditation [mind-training], working on my passions... literally DEVELOP THE SKILL of being passionate. It's sexy and makes life a whole hell of a lot more fun..

But yeah, that's it. I mean, when you're depressed your brain chemistry is severely fucked up and you're in a "there's no tomorrow" state of mind... but there is. There is ALWAYS hope, no matter what. Even if your hair is falling out others have grown it back... if you have cancer people have spontaneously healed... if you're a nerd with no social life and friends tons of guys started there and are now fucking italian supermodels and are some of the most respected men on the planet... there are NO LIMITS, except those you impose on yourself.